Dr. van Wyk is an accomplished international business executive, board member, consultant and educator who works with corporations, universities, foundations, associations, and government agencies across the country and around the world. She has broad experience leading major corporations and start-up companies and a proven track record of restructuring, repositioning, and integrating technology-enabled companies for growth. Sharon specializes in highly regulated industries including financial services, insurance, higher education, and healthcare.
Key competencies:
- Digital enterprise transformation
- Operational excellence
- Process design and re-engineering
- Change management
- Team performance acceleration
- End-to-end customer experience design and analytics
- Six Sigma and Lean
- Waterfall to agile implementation
- Enterprise transformation training and development
Sharon is a certified executive coach and possesses several process improvement certifications including Master Black Belt and Six Sigma Instructor. She subtly draws on aspects of Six Sigma, Lean, Agile and Scrum, user-centered design, and data science to help organizations improve and innovate.
Sharon’s held senior leadership positions in companies and universities that include Intuit, Genworth, GE Capital, Accenture, American Military University, American Public University and Laureate Education. She’s mentored early and mid-stage technology companies, developed innovative workplace and corporate education partnerships, advised the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Next Gen Learning curriculum and technology investments, served on Boards of Directors and Chaired the Advisory Board to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy under three consecutive U.S. Secretaries of Transportation.
Sharon holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and a M.S. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University. She earned a B.S. in Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She was an adjunct faculty member to the University of Connecticut Executive MBA Program and a community-based faculty member in the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Program. Her post-doctoral studies include certificates from the GE John F. Welch Leadership Development Center and the Harvard Institute of Education Management. She has also attended (by invitation only) the U.S. War College National Security Seminar.